Kelvin

Where Kelvin comes from

Of Celtic/Scottish Gaelic origin, possibly from caol (“narrow”) or coille (“wooded”) + abhainn (“river”). The surname is derived from the river. The surname was also possibly influenced by Calvert (Middle English calfhirde).
— Wiktionary's entry for Kelvin
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1912
    First appearance
    #2,269 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1933
    Kelvin Felix born
    Dominican Catholic cardinal
  3. 1965
    Peak, #207
    1,197 babies named Kelvin — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1997
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #393.
  5. 1999
    Kelvin Kiptum born
    Kenyan long-distance runner
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of rather rare usage.
Namesakes
  • Kelvin Kiptum · Kenyan long-distance runner, 1999–2024
  • Kelvin Felix · Dominican Catholic cardinal, 1933–2024
  • Kelvin Mateus de Oliveira · Brazilian association football player, born 1993
  • Kelvin Amian · French association football player, born 1998
  • Kelvin Leerdam · Surinamese footballer, born 1990

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.